Obama Administration Announces Deferred Action for Eligible DREAMers |
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The Obama Administration announced on June 15 that, effective immediately, individuals brought to the United States as children, who do not pose a risk to national security or public safety and meet other key criteria will be eligible to receive "deferred action." Deferred action stays any removal procedures and provides eligible individuals the right to apply for an employment authorization document ("EAD"). This new policy applies to eligible individuals who are in removal proceedings, as well as individuals with final orders of removal and to those who have never been placed in removal proceedings. The grant of deferred action is for a two year period and is subject to renewal.
It is expected that it will take 60 days for United States Citizenship and Immigration Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to implement a formal application process for eligible individuals. However, individuals who are currently in removal proceedings that meet the eligibility criteria will receive deferred action immediately.
We applaud the Obama administration for recognizing that the circumstances of these young people warrant a favorable exercise of its prosecutorial discretion authority. The announcement reflects that while it is necessary to enforce our nation's immigration laws, we must remain sensitive to the individual circumstances of young people. Many young people who will benefit for the grant of Deferred Action were unaware of, and had no control over their immigration status, as they were initially brought to the U.S. as young children.
We will continue to provide updates on this new policy as they occur.
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